Deep Silence before Dawn

What’s your favorite time of day?

I have a weekly habit of arising at 5:00AM on Sundays, in the pre-dawn hours. There is something about how the Silence envelopes me at the time that brings an inner peace.

I was not a morning person at all most of my life. I rose early only occasionally and then only if there was a particular and important reason. I was a night owl.

Time passed and I aged. I found late nights only work for me if I can sleep later the next day. I also found that sleep hygiene is the difference between consistently restful sleep and not-so-restful sleep; sleep habits make my body, emotions, mind, and soul “happy” and at ease.

Having thought myself a night owl all these years, you might imagine my surprise when I discovered I was most productive and peaceful in the morning! For a month, I kept a daily work journal, noting the times when I completed tasks and how I was feeling throughout the day- focused/eased/scattered/energized/etc. (I recommend this practice as a way of discovering your own patterns and most productive times of day. You may be surprised as I was!) With few exceptions, I found I do my best and most focused work in the morning.

Now I arrange my schedule to accommodate my best work and make a priority of completing important tasks first (not urgent ones-that’d be a whole other post!). Intriguingly, writing these blogs has become a first thing in the morning task.

Morning has indeed become my favorite part of my day and Sundays have become a special treat in the pre-dawn darkness. There may indeed come a day when I can work out an earlier bedtime consistently; then I’ll make my 5:00AM wake-up a habit. I am not quite ready to make that my gift to myself. Yet.